We were in Italy July 4th - July 12th. We flew from JFK to Rome on July 4th we checked into our hotel Albergo Del Senato (https://www.albergodelsenato.it/) and we walked over to the Colosseum for a 3:45 pm tour through Walks of Rome. It was an amazing tour and the tour guide was fabulous. Despite being 100 degrees we had an amazing time. We finished up and headed straight to our reservation at Armando al Pantheon (http://www.armandoalpantheon.it/). I had my first plate of Carbonara which was amazing. We also had a lovely pork dish we shared. If you can get a reservation there while in Rome I highly suggest. It was one of our favorite meals. You have to have a reservation and can make one on their website.
Albergo Del Senato was suggested on this site and we are so happy we booked this hotel. We had the only room with a balcony that over looked the Pantheon. It was straight out of a movie set, opening the doors to that view. It has a lovely rooftop patio for drinks which is only open to hotel guests. But it's a lovely way to see the sunset in Rome with a beautiful view of the Vatican in the distance. The room was large enough for 2 of us.
July 5th we woke up early and had a Sistine Pristine Tour of the Vatican through Walks of Italy. Again another great tour and tourguide (Sabrina). We walked the top of the Dome after our tour finished and had lunch just outside the Vatican. We then took a taxi to the Spanish Steps and also stopped at the Trevi Fountain before heading back to our hotel. We had dinner on July 5th at Roscioli Salumeria (https://salumeriaroscioli.com/booking/), again another fabulous restaurant. We had a wonderful meal there, I had Cacio e Pepe here and my husband had the gnocchi. Fabulous wine and service. Again you have to make a reservation and can do so on their website.
July 6th we took the train from Rome to Naples followed by a private car to our B&B Casa Nina (https://www.booking.com/hotel/it/maison-quot-pietra-santa-quot.html). When I booked this trip only 2 months prior I had a tough time finding a hotel. Casa Nina showed up on booking.com and I went with it. It was newly renovated, just a short walk to Positano (15 min), Arienzo Beach Club down stairs from our house and breakfast daily on our balcony with such beautiful views. Anna the owner was lovely.
Posted by
OP
215 posts
July 8th - we took the ferry from Positano to Capri and then a taxi to the other side of the island where we took at boat to Da Luigi ai Faraglion Beach Club. We had lunch at their restaurant and enjoyed the beach with the view of the faraglioni rocks right in front of our sunbed. We took the taxi back to the port and had a quick drink before boarding a 7pm ferry back to Positano
July 9th - we took the ferry from Positano to Amalfi, we left later that day and took a 1pm ferry, stopped at Amalfi and had lunch at a cafe and then took a taxi to Ravello (50 euro each way). We walked around Ravello and then had a private mozzarella class at Caseificio Staiano (http://www.caseificioravello.it/) which was the highlight of our trip. This is a husband and wife team and they are so amazing. After the mozzarella making you stay in their shop for some wine and to sample the rest of the cheeses Biagio makes. We left with full stomachs and a bag full of cheese to bring back to our B&B. We also bought some Parmigiano Reggiano to bring back home! I highly suggest booking this if you have time! You won't be disappointed.
July 10th - Arienzo Beach Club (https://www.arienzobeachclub.com/) was located about 300 stairs down from our house and the most amazing piece of heaven. We spent 2 days of our trip at this beach club. The family that runs this restaurant and beach are nothing short of amazing. You can book a sunbed and lunch reservation through the link, they were quite busy on the weekend but the week day was not as crowded so we did spur of the moment and was able to get a bed and reservation with no problem. If you are staying in Positano they a boat/shuttle there. We ate at Chez Black (http://www.chezblack.it/) in Positano that evening and loved the food there but the service was very very slow.
July 11th - We took a private transfer back from Positano to Naples train and stopped at Herculaneum Ruins for a 1.5 hour tour before heading to our train back to Rome. Once back in Rome we stayed at Aldrovandi Villa Borghese (https://www.aldrovandi.com/en/) righti n the Borghese Gardens. This hotel was beautiful and one of the only hotels with a pool. We relaxed by the pool and that evening headed to Trasevere to walk around and eat dinner. I loved this hotel but for me it was a little too far out of the city for me. But for one night before our flight it was fine.
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OP
215 posts
Trastevere was one of my favorite areas of Rome. We walked around and went into Basilica of our Lady which did not disappoint. Then we grabbed dinner at Tonnarello, at my husband suggestion! There I had my last Italian pasta I wanted to try pasta amatriciana, which did not disappoint served in a stainless steel pot. We also had some of the best meatballs here. We sat in the piazza and people watched before grabbing the last of our gelato before heading back to our hotel for sleep before our flight out the next day.
We had an amazing trip, thank you all on this forum who helped me plan everything. I cannot wait to go back!!
Posted by
Folsom
2732 posts
Thanks for the great report and feedback!
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6526 posts
Thank you! We'll be in some of these same areas next year, so I'm definitely checking out the restaurants.
Edit to add: I just checked out Armondo, and there's no menu or indication of the price range. Could you share some details. please?
Posted by
OP
215 posts
Hi Jane, we thought all the meals we had were reasonable in Rome (but we are from NY). I believe for 2 it was under 200 Euro and we both had appetizer, I had pasta, my husband had a lamb ragu and we had a bottle of wine and dessert too. Also if you google Armando Al Pantheon Menu you can see images with pricing.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16537 posts
I cannot wait to go back!!
Uh-oh. You've caught the disease. It's incurable so you're doomed to hang out with the rest of us just marking time until the next trip! 😉
Posted by
OP
215 posts
Uh-oh. You've caught the disease. It's incurable so you're doomed to hang out with the rest of us just marking time until the next trip! 😉
Kathy you are totally right, I'm ploy-ing my next trip! I can't wait to visit Rome longer, I felt like I could walk those streets for days and we had such a short stay there. We are going skiing in February in Switzerland (with kids this time) and flying into Milan so now on to that vacation!
Posted by
Sapulpa, OK, USA
6526 posts
Thanks, ownedby3. I'll do that. Sounds like a splurge, but every now and then a splurge is good for the soul. :-)
Posted by
1 posts
What tour did you do for Colosseum? We are looking for a skip the line and maybe 1-2 hour tour. Thanks
Posted by
OP
215 posts
We did the following tour, it was closer to 3 hours as we had to wait for our entrance time into the Colosseum so we waited about 30 min for that. But I definitely feel like we saw it all and didn't leave wishing we had done more.
https://theromanguy.com/tours/italy/rome/colosseum-tour-arena-floor
Posted by
arizona, usa
134 posts
Thanks for sharing your amazing journey.
Posted by
Southeast US
4044 posts
Enjoyed reading your report. Thanks for sharing. Casa Nina looks great on the Booking website!
Posted by
681 posts
Your trip report makes me so want to go to Italy again.
Posted by
franktown, colorado
2252 posts
Sounds like an awesome trip! Thanks for sharing.
Posted by
Arkansas
11 posts
Awesome trip report, thank you. We are staying in Trastevere in September, what was the name of the restaurant that had the delicious meatballs? Grazie
Posted by
OP
215 posts
Tonnarello in Trastevere
Posted by
Michigan
481 posts
I enjoyed reading your trip report, especially because we just went to Italy last month! Thanks for sharing your details and bringing back memories of my trip to Rome.
Part of our trip included a day and night in Milan. I see you’re heading there next… If you’re interested, going to the rooftop of the Duomo was really a cool experience for us. They call it a marble forest, and it was so beautiful! We were able to see the Duomo at sunset, and then arrive first thing in the morning before it got super hot to go out onto the rooftop. The lighting was so different in those two visits, and truly beautiful. It was neat to see the shadow of the spires in the piazza below in the morning hours.
Laurie